Technique & Tool: Chapter 2

Welcome to the 5th edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. The Pulse is a collaborative project that aims to introduce you to new artists, help you get to know familiar faces even more, and allow you access into the creative hearts and minds of a very talented crew of individuals. More than 130 artists have answered a series of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented in a series of online posts which will run every Sunday.
Style File was the first project posted and links to all 12 posts can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The second project, Techniques & Tools, the second project, continues now...

Participants were asked: 'The one technique or tool that you cannot live without is... ' I have added links of my own choosing to each contribution below, sometimes to products, sometimes to videos, sometimes to the artist's own work, and sometimes to something unexpected. Even the contributors do not know what I will be linking to!
----------------------------------------------
Wen Redmond

Paint! In all its forms! I create ALL my fabric and papers. They start out white and I dye, paint, print, digitalize, and go mad with color. Working with color and texture has always been a source of jubilation for me.
----------------------------------------------
Lisa Sarsfield

A ruler. A simple 30 cm ruler is invaluable when I'm creating a collage as I really like the soft rippled edge I can create, which happens to be my favourite technique.
----------------------------------------------
Lisa Scadron

Layering, which requires patience. I discovered layering by beginning again, after years, on a previously painted canvas. Instead of scraping away the old work and starting fresh, I found that adding paint and other media on top of the old surface created a richly textured piece. As I stumbled by "accident" into layering as a technique, perhaps honoring accidents/mistakes is more accurately my favorite technique.
----------------------------------------------
Deb Eck

My bonefolder. I use it for smoothing things, opening things, tearing and folding paper (of course) and lately I have been using it when I make cast paper too. It is in my hands more than any other tool I use.
----------------------------------------------
Julie Shackson

My camera. I use it to inform all the other media I work with. Sometimes I use the photographic image itself, but more often it is a jumping off point into other media.
----------------------------------------------
Julie Prichard

Golden Acrylic Paint
----------------------------------------------
Diana Trout

Quite a question for a mixed media artist! I'd have to say watercolors because of the flexibility. I could draw with them and paint. Can I have a brush (or two) as well?
----------------------------------------------
Sharon Read

The tool I could never work without is my trowel. I have had the same trowel for over half my life and it is used for mixing, applications, creating texture, propping things up, scraping, smoothing, lifting, and mark making.
----------------------------------------------
Laura J. Wellner

Just a pencil. Whenever I get "stuck" and need to get back on track with what I want to accomplish, I always go back to the pencil on paper to work it out and as long as I have a pencil or two around with some paper, I'll always be making art.
----------------------------------------------

My sewing machine; or at least a needle and ----------------------------------------------
Jane Royal

Derwent INKtense pencils. Just add water and it's like painting with a pencil! They're especially good for traveling.
----------------------------------------------

Next 'Techniques & Tools' will be posted on Sunday, October 2nd